GABP to serve as ‘beta’ test site for promising antiviral

CINCINNATI (FOX19) - Great American Ball Park will serve as a test site for an antiviral meant to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Grignard Pure is an “aerosol viricide” that neutralizes coronavirus in the air.

It has been tested by independent labs and proven effective at safely inactivating airborne virus particles, according to Grignard Company, which created the Grignard Pure.

The Cincinnati Reds have agreed to serve as a beta site for the viricide as the club looks forward to a shortened MLB season possibly beginning in July.

“We believe the novel aerosol antiviral capabilities of Grignard Pure may enable us to achieve (our) goals," Reds President of Baseball Operations Phil Castellini said. “For this reason, the Cincinnati Reds organization has agreed to serve as a ‘beta’ site for Grignard Pure.”

Grignard Pure is dispersed either though a building’s HVAC system or using haze/fog machines, the company says.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, which is headquartered in Cincinnati, has advised Grignard Pure’s active ingredients at low parts per million levels as safe for human inhalation.

“Grignard Pure creates a light atmospheric haze throughout an indoor space that inactivates enveloped viruses such as the novel coronavirus on non-porous hard surfaces and in the air, where it is most dangerous,” a company release states.

The novel coronavirus can travel in small droplets released from the mouth when speaking, coughing and sneezing.

According to Grignard, one sneeze generates up to 40,000 micro-droplets of the COVID-19 pathogen that can travel up to 27 feet.

The Reds organization plans to target enclosed locations at the ballpark including elevators, restrooms, concession areas, luxury boxes, locker rooms and clubhouses, Grignard says.

William Esposito, MD, president and founder of Ambient Group, is working with Grignard on evaluating best practices for safely reopening commercial buildings amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A growing number of studies indicate that the coronavirus is airborne, so surface treatments only address part of the issue,” Esposito said. "The active ingredient in Grignard Pure has historically been documented and proven effective as a biocide against airborne microorganisms and enveloped viruses very similar to the coronavirus.

“Getting Grignard Pure into the market now will help prevent the further spread of COVID-19 and ultimately enable governors to re-open their economies with confidence knowing that they are doing everything they can to attack the virus on both on surfaces and in the air.”

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